Are You Ready
by MoonlitTheft
Summary: Ready? No, Yomi was NOT ready to deal with one Kuroba Kaito as a new neighbor... But hopefully, she will learn to adapt to his presence very fast. When it comes to the magician, it's always best to simply go with the flow after all. KaitoxYomi HakubaxAoko
1. Chapter 1

Kaito peeks out at the house next to him, noticing a dim light through the gap the curtains to the living room provide. A few days ago moving trucks went back and forth and while he didn't see anyone enter or leave the house in the past few days (what with having spend most his time at school, hanging out with Aoko and planning heists), he figures that now is a good time to finally go and introduce himself to the new neighbors. After all, Kaito wouldn't be Kaito if he didn't welcome the new additions to the never quiet neighborhood himself, now would he?

Decision made and grin firm on his face, Kaito bounces to the hall and slips into his school, figuring that he looks decent enough in a pair of casual jeans and the black top with a random band name splashed over it (wait, is that a stain on his pant leg? Oh well, he doubts anyone will notice) before slipping into a pair of ratty sneakers and practically skipping to the door of the house next to his.

Taking a deep breath he rings the door, wondering what kind of people have moved into the house this time. The last couple that lived here had been old with a grandson who always dropped by his place whenever he was around, begging his 'Kaito-nii' to show him more magic. He'd liked the little runt, really. And the couple had never said anything about the strange explosions that came from his side or the miraculously flying mops that tended to happen sometimes when Aoko dropped by. He can only hope that the new people will be just as accepting of the noisiness that tends to come from his houses direction.

Straining his ears, he can hear socked feet padding over the floor, nearing the door as the hall light flickers on. Mustering his best and (hopefully) most disarming grin, Kaito watches as the door opens. In the doorway, a girl that seems to be his age is standing. Her hair is silver and falls down her back slightly messily, her eyes a blue color with a tint of purple to them. His grin becomes a bit more strained as her eyes narrow slightly, sending the message 'who the hell are you' to him clearly.

Deciding not to be put out by this, Kaito sweeps to a low bow while conjuring a white rose in his hand. "Kuroba Kaito at your service, miss. Magician extraordinaire! Welcome to the neighborhood."

Peeking up at the girl through his messy fringe, he barely suppresses the pout when, instead of the blush that normally follows his introduction, her only reaction seems to be a blank stare. Finally, she opens her mouth to speak, the words also being completely different then what Kaito is used to hearing. "... I don't have a vase."

It had been a few days since Kaito had been so happy for his poker face as he is now, the grin remaining intact instead of the awkwardness he feels as he rises to his normal stature again. He wriggles his fingers of his other hand, drawing her attention to it, before opening his hand and producing a small vase with it. He plops the rose into the vase and holds it out to her, looking at her expectantly.

Her eyes linger on the vase for a few seconds before shifting to his face as she finally reaches out and takes it from him. "Thank you... I guess?" she murmurs, standing like she isn't completely sure what to do with the item.

"No problem!" Kaito says cheerfully enough, the poker face unneeded to keep his grin on his face as his token has finally be accepted.

"My name is Yomi... would you like to come in for a drink? Though at the moment I only have some soda." she comments after a few more seconds of silence in which she obviously debated whether or not she should invite the strange guy in.

"Sure!" Kaito says cheerfully enough, walking inside as she steps aside to let him in before he slips off his shoes.

She guides him into the living room which seems to only hold the basic neccesarities where furniture is concerned. Two couches, a low table, a TV, a few cabinets. Kaito watches her walk to the kitchen counter at the end of the room, the kitchen only separated from the living room area by a simple kitchen isle. He automatically compares the bare room to his own house, noting a lack of personal artifacts such as pictures or anything that may indicate hobbies. Most of the furniture is in either white or cream, making the room seem even more bare then it really is.

"You can sit down." Yomi calls over her shoulder while filling the small vase with water and placing it down on the counter, watching Kaito stand around a tad awkwardly. He nods at this and wastes no time letting himself plop down on the couch, noticing that it bounces ever so slightly. He grins lightly as he realizes it would make for a perfect trampoline, and it is only with the utmost self-restraint that he doesn't bounce a bite more.

Yomi moves to him, placing a can of soda on the table in front of him before sitting down on the other couch as she opens her own can and takes a sip, seemingly content with letting the silence linger in the air.

"So..." Kaito grabs his can and opens it before letting himself sit back (no, damnit, he did NOT bounce! ... Much.) as he shifts his eyes to Yomi. "Where do you come from? Did you always live in Ekoda?"

"I lived at the other side of Ekoda, but before that I lived in Osaka." Yomi explains, shifting her own eyes to meet his.

"Really? I don't hear much Osaka-ben from you." Kaito blinks, taking another sip of the soda (fortunately, it's one of his favorite ones).

"We moved away when I was eight." Yomi says simply. "I had plenty of times to switch accents around."

"Huh... I don't think I've seen you at school before... did you go to a different school before? Are you still going to that other school? I go to Ekoda High, it's pretty close to here so maybe you should transfer there?" Kaito babbles on, trying to fill up the silences that tend to appear whenever she's answered him. Conversation is a two-way street after all, and he's not completely sure how to fill that out on his own.

"I don't go to school. I haven't gone to school since I was 15." Yomi shrugs.

"Eh? Why not? School is so much fun!" Kaito complains, looking at Yomi like she's not from this world. Well, for all he knows, she really isn't. One can never be too sure after all.

"There is no point in going." Yomi replies, shrugging lightly as she sips her own soda. "School doesn't have anything it can teach me anymore." she points out.

"But what about hanging out with people? Making friends!" Kaito protests, a pout growing on his lips.

Yomi merely raises an eyebrow at him, rewarding the other with a blank stare.

'She's bad at socializing, that's for sure.' Kaito thinks to himself, trying not to let his grin waver under her stare as he finishes the can. 'Well! Only one thing to do about that~ I'll just have to help her out a little!'

The lack of many shoes and coats in the hallway had shown him enough to deduct that Yomi is most likely living alone, combined with living in a part she hasn't lived in before. If you add that all, he figures that it's not too strange that she might be too shy or awkward to socialize; it's a pretty big change after all. Decision made, Kaito hops up from the couch (okay, fine. He bounced on it. A little). "Let's hang out together tomorrow, I'll show you around a bit." he offers cheerfully.

Yomi eyes him for a bit before shrugging. "Sure." she replies, raising an eyebrow at the boy. She'd have thought she'd have successfully chased him off with her attitude, not made him want to drop by again. 'Oh well.'

"Great! So, be ready to leave at 8AM, okay? Bye bye for now~" Kaito grins and waves at her before walking out of the living room to fetch his shoes as the words register.

"Eig... How early?" She objects, standing up to walk after him, only to realize upon arriving in the hallway, that Kaito is already gone.

She scoffs lightly, brushing her hair out of her face. "Seriously..." she groans, shaking her head.

-

True to his word, the next day finds Kaito ringing Yomi's doorbell at 8AM sharp, decked out in his black school outfit, schoolbag slung over his shoulder casually.

Some stumbling ensues from inside before the door opens, revealing Yomi. Her hair is slightly messier then it was the previous day, showing that she probably hasn't come around to brushing it yet. She doesn't look like she's been awake for too long yet, but that doesn't stop Kaito from grinning at her. "Come on, or we're going to be late!"

"Late... For?" Yomi groans, finally registering Kaito's appearance. "You're going to school, so... why do I have to be up?"

"That's simple, silly~" Kaito coos, all but putting her shoes on for her. "You're coming with me, now come on!" He shoves her coat into her arms, grabs the keys he sees dangling from the wall (they look like house keys anyway) before dragging Yomi out of her house and closing the door behind them.

"Hey, wait." Yomi splutters out, finally having woken up through Kaito's pushy hands which are dragging her along to, what she imagines, is school.

"No way, Ahoko will throw a fit if I'm late at the meeting spot, you know?" Kaito puffs up a cheek. "Let's go, let's go!"

Groaning, and figuring there isn't much chance to rip her wrist out of the surprisingly strong grip without hurting either herself or him, Yomi allows the boy to drag her off to wherever it is he wants to drag her to.

After a few minutes, Kaito turns to him and looks Yomi over, taking into account the casual clothing as he huffs softly. "Now that won't do." he 'tsk's slightly, shaking her head.

"Huh? Wha-" Yomi is cut off by a puff of smoke surrounding her. Confused, she tries to wave it away as she tries not to cough, feeling the smoke irritate her eyes enough to have small tears gather at the corners, but that is ignored soon enough when she feels that her legs, previously covered by snug fitting jeans, are suddenly quite cold...

As the smoke clears up she looks down, spluttering slightly as she finds herself dressed in the female version of the school outfit Kaito seems to be wearing.

"Great! Much better, let's go!" Kaito says cheerfully, grabbing her wrist again before dragging Yomi on their way again.

Yomi can do little other then gape at the back of Kaito's head, trying not to think of how she came to wear this outfit and where her own clothes went. She has the feeling that the embarrassment will have her beat the boy up before he'll be able to explain himself.

Kaito grins at seeing two figures in the distance and waves. "YOOOO! AOKO!" he calls loudly, drawing the attention of a girl with messy brown hair as he waves at her.

She spots him and grins, waving back, sending a confused glance at Yomi when the two draw closer. "Eh? Kaito, who's that?" she questions, tilting her head to the side as she looks Yomi over.

"This is Yomi, she's my neighbor." Kaito grins, introducing them. "Yomi, this is Aoko, my best friend since forever, and that's my blonde stalker, Hakuba."

The blonde splutters a little. "I am Not your stalker." he scoffs, narrowing his brown eyes at Kaito. "I am merely accompanying Nakamori-san here. If you happen to slip up and prove my findings correct along the way, then that is the way it has to be." he says simply before focusing his attention back on the new comer.

To say that she's feeling awkward is an understatement. Not only dragged out of her house to go to school of all places and then faced with a pretty brunette girl and a cute blonde (is that his natural hair color? No way...) guy who seem close to the guy that dragged her here.

As if sensing her awkwardness about the situation the brunette (Aoko, she reminds herself) smiles at Yomi. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that you have to live next to him." she huffs, jabbing her thumb at Kaito. "Honestly. If he gives you any trouble, you should let me know, alright? I'll whack him good for you." she grins.

"Ah... I will." Yomi nods slowly as Kaito pouts.

"Oi! Ahoko! I'm not That bad!" he complains, swinging his arms around.

"BaKaito! You're Worse!" Aoko complains back, just as vividly.

Hakuba watches the two for a few seconds, though Yomi noticed that his eyes seem to soften ever so slightly when they land on the girl before he clears his throat, casually taking a golden pocket watch out. "If we do not get to walking right now," he pauses to send Kaito a deliberate stare, effectively stopping the boy in tracks as his hand had reached out to flip Aoko's skirt. "we shall be late."

Aoko narrows her eyes, whacking Kaito opposite his head with a huff as the boy crouches down, clutching his head. "Ow! Aoko!" he complains, tears gathering in his eyes with a childish whine.

"Come ON, BaKaito! We can't have you render us all late!" Aoko replies, grabbing Yomi's elbow and Hakuba's bicep as she proceeds to drag them with her.

Immediately the tears disappear from Kaito's eyes as he jumps up, rushing after them. "Oi! Wait for me! OI!"

-

Yomi expected that, the moment Kaito dragged her into the classroom the teacher would announce that she's not supposed to be there and she'd be able to flee from the building. However, what she didn't expect was the teacher to look from her, to Kaito, to her, then welcome her to the class and tell her to sit down.

Still confused by the whole ordeal (and wondering just what kind of school this is) she finds herself sitting next to Kaito, Aoko sitting at Kaito's other side, Kaito's book in between his and Yomi's desk so she can see as well.

Of course, her confusion only grows when she notices that the desk directly before Kaito (and, even the one before that) and behind him are completely empty, Hakuba sitting behind Aoko. 'I feel like I'm missing a very vital piece of information...' she thinks, ignoring the confused stares of the other students as she listens to half an ear to Kaito who explains where they are in class in hushed tones as the teacher simply starts class like nothing is out of the ordinary.

Yomi groans softly, closing her eyes for a split second before dragging her eyes to the book once more.

"Don't worry if it's hard to catch up, if you need any help, I'll be able to help you out." Kaito grins at her in a way that might've seemed encouraging if it didn't cause the nearest students to sit rigid in their seats, looking around them with wide eyes, almost as if they're expecting something to happen.

Yomi brings up her hand to pinch the brink of her nose, shaking her head lightly. "Kaito..." she murmurs. "I did all this years ago."

Kaito blinks, slightly startled. Surely Yomi isn't much older than he is, right? "Eh? You mean you already finished high school?"

"Yes... I skipped a few grades and finished early." Yomi explains with a sigh, shaking her head lightly.

Kaito's grin comes back full force, surprising Yomi. "Well, then this time you're in it for the friends and not the material." he piped up cheerfully.

Yomi sends a long hard look at Kaito before tilting her head back with a groan. 'That's it. I give up.' she thinks to herself, cracking her eyes open ever so slightly.

She is met with a compassionate glance from the person behind her and all of a sudden it doesn't seem too unlikely that people avoid the cheerful magician who goes back to happily explaining exactly where they are in class.

-

The last period before the end of class finds Yomi sitting at her desk (heck, her name was put with the desk for future role calls thanks to Kaito) while casually drumming her fingers on the desk. Through half-lidded eyes she lazily watches Kaito run around the classroom, Aoko chasing the boy with a mop which she seems to have conjured out of nowhere.

She can't even bring herself to be surprised anymore as the class simply progresses around it, the teacher droning away and asking questions when needed, and the students ignoring the two in the back of the class (other than to make a hasty retreat for their own safety of course).

Going over the chaos of the previous classes, she can't help but shake her head lightly, her musings interrupted by the teacher's voice. "Hattori-san. Please answer this question."

Standing up, Yomi gives the fitting answer while wondering to herself how she has suddenly become an actual student in the span of less than three hours, instead of an awkward tag along.

Sitting down again, she glances back at Kaito just as he manages to catch the mop in between his hands ("But Aoko! There's nothing wrong with blue! I LIKE blue!" "BAKAITOOOOOO!") and shakes her head lightly. 'Honestly.'

The bell rings a few minutes later in which Aoko manages to calm down a great deal and Kaito is rubbing his shoulder where a new bruise is, no doubt forming. "You had that coming for you, you know." Yomi snorts softly, shaking her head as Kaito slings his bag over his shoulder. They walk out of the classroom, following behind Aoko who seems to be complaining to Hakuba who is obviously trying to calm her down.

"No way! It's abuse, abuse!" Kaito insists, turning puppy dog eyes at Yomi, pout firmly set in place and eyes wide and innocent.

Yomi shakes her head lightly, deciding not to comment. "Sure, sure." she snorts.

"Well, on another note, did you have fun?" Kaito grins at Yomi, easily tossing aside the previous conversation in favor of the new one.

Yomi opens her mouth, about to retort with the automatic 'how can school be fun!' that nearly every student seems to have, before pausing. Thinking back over how the school day has gone she can't deny that it has been a... very amusing day. The class was rowdy and loud (mostly thanks to Kaito) and lunch break found her sitting on the roof with Kaito, Aoko and Hakuba, listening as Kaito and Aoko argued and laughed, Kaito filling her in on memories where it was necessary. All in all... it has definitely been a good day.

"I guess I did." she muses, tapping her chin with her nail ever so lightly.

"Great!" Kaito grins, the grin seemingly bright enough to require people to need sunglasses. "So! You coming along again tomorrow?" the grin transforms back into the puppy look, eyes big and hopeful.

"Eh... I'm not even an actual student, won't that cause any problems?" Yomi replies carefully, casually shifting her eyes away from the other to avoid the stare.

"Nothing that can't be fixed~ So~ Yes~?" Kaito coos, hopping around her, grin back in full.

Yomi sighs, shaking her head lightly. "Yeah, sure." she comments, not even going to try to go against it. After all, her not actually going to the school can, in fact, be changed easily enough. That's really not the problem.

"Whoo!" Kaito grins, swinging his arm over her shoulders, momentarily startling her. "Great, that's settled then!" he says cheerfully enough, waving at Aoko and Hakuba when they look back questionably.

"Err..." Yomi eyes Kaito from the corner of her eyes before shaking her head, giving up. 'Well, it's not like I have anything better to do then go back to school...' she thinks to herself. 'Oh God, no more sleeping in...'

Soon enough they meet the point where Kaito and Yomi will split from Aoko and Hakuba, the blonde offering to walk Aoko home. After a series of 'goodbye, see you tomorrow', Yomi finally turns her attention back to Kaito. "So... Why, exactly, do you seem so set on getting me back to school anyway?" she asks, the question having hovered in her head ever since she was dragged from her house this morning.

Kaito blinks and grins at her. "Isn't that obvious? I'm a magician." he answers.

"... Yes?" Yomi raises an eyebrow at Kaito, obviously not quite understanding what the other is getting at.

"Magicians are there to make people happyyyy~" Kaito coos, reaching out and flicking Yomi's nose, causing the other to send him a slightly disgruntled look. "And isn't hanging out with friends at school something that makes everyone happy?"

Yomi shakes her head lightly. "I give up. Trying to understand you is giving me a headache." she groans, causing Kaito to laugh.

Soon enough finds them at her doorstep, Kaito declaring that she can keep the school uniform and that he'll be there to pick her up again the next morning at 8.

Somehow, when Yomi opens her wardrobe the next morning to get ready for the day, blinking sleep out of her eyes, she doesn't even find herself surprised to see two clean school uniforms hang in her wardrobe amidst her other outfits, the casual outfit of the previous day hanging next to them.

-

MT: There! 11 pages of epicness~ Well, erm, if not that, then at least 11 pages of intro.  
>Hakuba: I feel... vastly underrated what with how little I appeared in this chapter. Just so you know.<br>MT: Eh... Whoops~?  
>Kaito: No way~ You popped in too much already~ You should've been, like, in England or something! =D<br>Hakuba: ... =.=  
>Aoko: BaKaito! Be nice to Hakuba-kun!<br>Kaito: EH! BETRAYAL!  
>Yomi: Haa... v.v<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks have come and gone and slowly but surely Yomi has started to grow used to Kaito arriving at her door every morning at eight AM. Sometimes he rings the bell, other times he just yells for her from the low gate surrounding her house.

The schooldays keep her amused every day; Kaito's numerous pranks come in many shapes and forms and she is pretty sure she's seen nearly all colors existing in various peoples' hair thanks to the prankster (and that's without even counting the weird patters that Kaito sometimes manages to get into someone's hair).

It is a Saturday morning around eleven that finds her answering her door, dressed in casual clothing as she comes face to face with her neighbor who is dressed just as casually.

"Yo, Yomi. Ready to go?" Kaito grins at her, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets.

"Yeah, hold on." Yomi replies, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her keys before walking out of the house, pulling the door shut behind her.

The weather is quite nice; the breeze gentle and only slightly chilly but the rays cast by the sun are more than enough to make up for that, allowing them to forego their coats.

"Okay, let's go!" Kaito grins before practically bouncing to the meeting spot where they will meet up with Aoko and Hakuba for their day out. Since there were a few things Aoko needed to buy at the mall, they decided to go together, catch a movie, eat some dinner, then go home.

Kaito happily fills Yomi in on a show that has been broadcasted; a show involving a magician local to New York which has him jumping high and low over certain stunts while proclaiming that he could've done a few of them a lot better. Like always, Yomi listens more then she talks, giving affirmative replies here and there where they are needed, but Kaito doesn't seem too bothered about having to do all the talking; his mouth is made for letting lose sounds after all.

By the time they spot a familiar blonde and brunette, Kaito is finally wrapping up his one sided conversation about magic, only to perk up when Aoko greets him. "Oh, Aoko! Did you see that show yesterday?" he grins.

Yomi groans, responding before Aoko can. "Whether she has or not, I have no need for hearing everything you just told me Again... you do know that, right?" she huffs, sending Kaito a slightly pointed look.

Kaito pouts at her pitifully, clasping his hands behind his back. "B-B-Buuutttt~!" he whines, hopping from one foot to the other.

"No." Yomi scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrows her eyes at Kaito.

Aoko barely stifles a giggle while the corners of Hakuba's lips twitch ever so lightly. "Well, let's get going." Aoko says, conveniently breaking the two up as Kaito has started bouncing lightly in his pleading.

"Fiiiine." Kaito huffs, pout still in full as he turns his attention back to the other two in their company, looking for the world like a kicked puppy.

"Oh don't look like that. I'll listen to you some other time." Aoko scoffs, rolling her eyes as she tries not to smile in amusement.

"Promise?" Kaito's pout grows, if possible, bigger as he latches onto Aoko's shoulder.

"Yes, yes." Aoko snorts, leaning away from Kaito ever so slightly, distrust in her eyes at their sudden close promixity.

"Yay!" Kaito cheers, letting his hands punch the air and casually flipping Aoko's skirt up as he does so.

Aoko's mouth opens and closes a few times, cheeks staining red. "BAKAITO!" she cries out, reaching out to throttle him.

This time it's Hakuba who interferes, the British detective clearing his throat lightly as he steps in between them. "Assuming we still wish to see the movie after getting the things you need to get... we can deal with Kuroba later, Nakamori-san. It will give you plenty of times to come up with various ways to pay him back as well." he smiles at the brunette.

Aoko blinks, her gaze turning thoughtful while Kaito lets out a small "Eep!", comically hiding behind Yomi who does little more than role her eyes.

"Come on, let's go." she snorts, as she starts walking after Aoko who's dragging Hakuba ahead, the girl still looking slightly peeved over what just went on with Kaito.

Kaito huffs softly before grinning and jogging a few meters to catch up, walking next to Yomi again as he had done before.

The four arrive at the mall not too long after, Aoko quickly diving into a clothing shop to get a few more shirts. "Come on, Yomi, let's go!" she grins back at the other girl who blinks in confusion.

"Eh?"

Rolling her eyes, Aoko grabs hold of Yomi and drags her into the store. "Let's make the guys carry our bags when we're done." she grins at the other, glancing back at the two males who are following after them at a slower pace, Hakuba looking less than exited while Kaito simply looks as cheerful as ever.

"I'm not particularly in need of-"

"Nonsense! Every girl is in need of new clothing, always." Aoko cuts Yomi off before dragging her over to a rack of clothing.

Yomi shakes her head lightly as she stops in front of the rack Aoko starts browsing through. She casually looks through some articles of clothing as she listens to Aoko taking out several articles.

"Ne, do you think I should go for the red one or the blue one?" Aoko asks, holding up two short summer dresses.

Vaguely remembering that Aoko only mentioned that she needed some shirts, Yomi tilts her head to the side. "Blue." she comments, watching Aoko put the red one back and look the dress over with a critical eye.

Shaking her head lightly, Yomi moves to where they keep the pants, browsing through some shorts. If she's going to be here anyway, she might as well look through things she'll actually purchase after all.

"Ne, why don't you ever wear skirts?" Kaito asks, popping up next to her.

"So you can flip it?" Yomi remarks dryly, shaking her head. "I don't think so. Besides, pants are a lot more practical to move in."

"Skirts look better, though~" Kaito coos, holding up a few skirts he's seen around. They seem modest enough; modest and plain, just as Yomi prefers her pants to be.

"Then why don't you wear them?" Yomi asks, raising an amused eyebrow. The amusement is fuelled some more when she thinks of how some people might've looked upon seeing a guy browse through the skirt section of the store.

"Do you want me to?" Kaito grins at her (a razor sharp grin she notices) as he wriggles his eyebrows.

Yomi stares for a few seconds, wondering if the other is actually serious before deciding that this is Kaito... of course he's serious. Her lips quirk up slightly as she shrugs. "Sure, why not."

Kaito laughs, holding the skirts up one by one. "What do you think? Should I go for black? Red? Blue? Gray? No, never mind the gray, it's too plain for me~"

Yomi snorts, giving up on even pretending the shorts still interest her as she turns to Kaito fully. "Why not go for black, hm? Might bring out your eyes." she chuckles.

"Done deal!" Kaito grins at her, cheerfully enough. "Make sure to rate me on it~" he coos before bouncing towards the fitting room, completely ignoring how scandalized Hakuba looks at seeing the other guy in the group bounce into the changing stall with skirts slung over his arm.

"Don't stress over it too much." Yomi snorts, plopping down on the seat next to Hakuba.

Hakuba opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to block out Kaito's humming from the stall before he shakes his head. "I am... This is beyond me." he sighs, running his hand through his hair as he searches the store for Aoko, finding her with a few articles of clothing in her arms as she browses through the shirts.

"I was meaning to ask you, Hattori-san." Hakuba murmurs after a few seconds of silence, brown eyes shifting to the girl next to him. "Are you, by any chance, familiar with Hattori Heji?" he questions, quirking an eyebrow.

Yomi blinks at the question before nodding. She'd have expected it earlier if she's completely honest; what with both Hakuba and Heji being detectives. "Yes, he is my cousin." she confirms.

Hakuba nods, sitting back lightly. "I figured as much." he muses.

"I'm not surprised you did." Yomi's lips curve up in a small smile, thinking back to her hot headed cousin's rant when she told him she went to class with the blonde detective.

The smile makes its way for confusion however when a few articles of clothing are shoved into her face thanks to Aoko. "... Hm?" she takes the clothes, looking up at Aoko questionable.

"I found you an outfit." Aoko grins at Yomi before holding up the same outfit in different colors. "It matches the one I'm going to buy~"

Yomi takes a few seconds to deadpan at the outfits before actually looking them over. The outfits consist out of a short baby doll dress with some frills at the bottom and Capri pants. To finish it up, Aoko had found short vests with long sleeves. She has to admit that they look pretty good. In her set the dress is light blue while the pants and vest are white; the colors being reversed for Aoko.

"Come on, let's try them on~" Aoko grins, already tugging Yomi up impatiently.

"Who's trying what on?" Kaito asks, hopping out of the stall in the black skirt that reaches a bit above his knees.

Aoko stares, wide eyed as her mouth falls open. "K-K-K...!"

Kaito merely does a little twirl before striking a pose. "Doesn't it make my ass look Great?" He asks cheerfully.

Yomi covers her mouth with her hand as a snort escapes her, ignoring the scandalized looks several people around them shoot them.

"Hakuba-chan~ Look at these legs!" Kaito grins, sticking one of his legs up to display the smooth bare skin to the blonde.

Hakuba's reaction to the whole ordeal is to simply cover his hands with his face, hoping that no one will think he actually knows the guy...

"K-K-BAKAITO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Aoko explodes, no doubt coming up with several creative ways as to how to strangle her childhood friend with the clothes hangers in her arms.

"Whoops~ Heheh~" Kaito blows the brunette a kiss before diving back into the stall to change back into his pants, hoping that the brunette won't follow him in there.

Fortunately, Aoko doesn't follow him there, though that is mostly because Yomi starts shoving her to one of the fitting rooms herself. "Come on, weren't we going to try out the sets you picked out?" she murmurs, trying to make sure that the shopping trip doesn't turn into a blood bath. She does feel slightly responsible for Kaito actually prancing around in the skirt after all...

Aoko closes her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, determination set on her features. "What we just saw? That didn't happen, right? It was an illusion, wasn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, really." Yomi murmurs, playing along.

"Great!" Aoko grins at Yomi, fully satisfied with the response.

Yomi smiles back before the two move into the fitting room, not even bothering to each grab a different one as they start to change.

Kaito hops out of the stall he was occupying, fortunately dressed in pants again as he plops down next to Hakuba. "So~ Did you like the show~?" he coos, leaning close to the blonde.

"You are... no, insane is putting it lightly. Very, VERY lightly..." Hakuba grouses out, still covering his face with his hands.

Kaito laughs, slapping Hakuba's back good naturedly before hopping up. "I'll put the skirts back now~ Don't miss me too much~" he blows the blonde a kiss before bouncing off.

Hakuba groans, sinking a bit lower into his seat. He can feel some gazes upon him; gazes of people whom now know for sure that he's actually associated with the boy. Daring a peek in between his fingers Hakuba isn't sure if he should be grateful or offended that most of the looks tossed his way seem to be swimming in sympathy.

Mortified, Hakuba lets a shaky sigh escape his lips as he slowly starts counting from 100 to 1. In German.

-

By the time Aoko and Yomi move out of the stall Hakuba has managed to compose himself again and Kaito is sitting next to him, humming while looking around as if nothing happened.

Blue and brown eyes are drawn to the girls when they emerge and Kaito hops up, grinning. "You two look so cute in those~" he coos, moving around them to get a better look. "You should definitely, definitely get them. Hmhm." he nods to himself.

"BaKaito." Aoko huffs at the compliment, flustering slightly before turning her attention to the blonde in the group. "Ne? What do you think?" she asks, grinning while Yomi tries swats Kaito's hand off of her shoulder while rolling her eyes.

"I think you look very lovely, Nakamori-san." Hakuba smiles at Aoko, some of his previous trauma banned from his mind.

The blush deepens slightly as Aoko grins. "Thanks." she replies.

"You're very welcome." Hakuba answers, the smile widening slightly.

"Oi, oi. You two done making eyes at each other yet?" Kaito interferes, sticking out his tongue at them from where he's standing (not hiding. Nope, not at all) behind Yomi.

"We were not!" Aoko objects as Hakuba splutters a bit, both their cheeks heating up.

Yomi snorts softly while Kaito snickers. "Of course not~ Now! Change back and buy the things you want to buy~" Kaito comments, slinging his arms around Yomi and Aoko's shoulders, guiding them back to the stall.

Less than ten minutes later finds them outside, Aoko having purchased two bags filled with clothes which Hakuba dutifully offers to carry for her while Kaito cheerfully takes Yomi's one bag from her.

"Let's go!" Kaito cheers, slinging the arm not holding the bag across Yomi's shoulders while punching the air with the hand holding the bag. "Let us move to the nearest ice-cream vendor~"

"Ice-cream?" Yomi asks, quirking an eyebrow at Kaito in amusement. "When was that decided?"

"Oh, you know, about five minutes ago~" Kaito grins, already starting to walk, none of the others offering any actual complaints.

Kaito is the one to pay for everyone's ice-cream and soon enough they're sitting on two benches which are separated only by a metal trash bin.

"We still have 37.18 minutes before the movie starts." Hakuba comments, licking his vanilla ice-cream cone as he sits back, Aoko blinking as she looks up at Hakuba from her chocolate cone.

"You're always so punctual." she muses at the boy next to her before grinning. "Unlike someone else I know." she huffs, jabbing her thumb at Kaito.

"Oi, oi! I'm always in time when I say I'll be somewhere!" Kaito objects, some strawberry ice-cream on the corner of his lip.

"I'm sure you are... When you agree to be somewhere at night." Hakuba scoffs, shaking his head lightly.

"Oi, oi! Always, always!" Kaito objects, ignoring the jab towards the times his heist notes always show.

"Kaito, you have some ice-cream on the corner of your mouth." Yomi murmurs, a chocolate ice-cream cone in her hand as well.

"Eh? Where?" Kaito blinks, rubbing at the corner of his mouth, switching to the other corner when she shakes her head. "Gone?"

"Hmhm." she nods, sitting back lightly, rolling her eyes ever so slightly as Kaito rewards her with a big grin.

A comfortable silence falls over them as they turn their attention back to their ice-cream, Yomi's eyes shifting to the other bench.

Aoko is talking to Hakuba in low tones, the blonde paying rapt attention to everything she's saying. A small smile falls onto Yomi's lips. In the past few weeks she has noticed that there seems to be -something- between the two, even though it doesn't seem strong enough to give it a real name yet. Not quite a crush, but close enough. She has no doubt that, given a little time, the two would be blushing victims of Kaito's pranks (like they aren't yet).

"They look pretty good together, don't they?" Kaito murmurs, his lips close to her ear.

Startling slightly, Yomi glances at him before nodding. "Yeah, they do." she agrees, shifting her eyes to the other to find Kaito looking at his two friends with a smirk on his lips.

Yomi has a feeling of pity for the two upon seeing the smirk; it can't bode too well for the two after all.

"Kaito, don't do anything weird." She huffs softly.

"I never do anything weird!" Kaito objects, looking mock-offended.

Yomi chuckles, shaking her head lightly.

Once everyone finishes their ice-cream, the group starts walking the five minutes it takes to get to the movies from their spot on the bench where it's decided that Kaito and Yomi will get the snacks ("Don't get anything weird, BaKaito!" "Oi, oi! It's just popcorn, Ahoko!") while Hakuba and Aoko stand in line for the tickets ("For all the good in the world, don't get tickets for Moby Dick!" "Idiot! That's not even playing right now!" "... Oh!").

Aoko rolls her eyes as she can see Kaito pick out all sorts of things at the snack stand from where she's standing in line. "Honestly, with everything he can eat I'm surprised he's never had cavities." she huffs, crossing her arms over his chest.

Hakuba chuckles lightly, giving the other a one-shouldered shrug. "I'm just glad he doesn't get a sugar rush; that would make things a lot worse than they have been, you know?" he points out.

Aoko blinks, taking a few seconds to imagine Kaito on a sugar rush before shivering lightly and banishing the thought from her mind. "Yeah, no. Just no." she groans, running her hand through her messy hair. "That would be horrible."

Hakuba nods in agreement, picking out a movie for them (and the fact that Aoko has been talking about wanting to see it for the past few days has nothing to do with his choice, really) and paying for the tickets with the money everyone shoved into his hands.

Aoko lets out a small happy hum as she hears him pick the tickets, excitement lighting up her face which is enough to remind Hakuba that yes, this really is the movie they should be watching today.

Tickets in hand, they move to Kaito and Yomi, both their hands filled with popcorn, soda's and some other sweets Kaito has picked out. Taking their own share from their hands ("Ah! Aoko, those are MY skittles!") the four soon find themselves sitting in a row of seats at the back of the theatre, the shopping bags spread around their feet.

Yomi watches in amusement as Kaito steals the skittles back from Aoko and casually makes them disappear, drawing an outraged cry from the brunette which is soon eased by Hakuba offering their bucket of popcorn to her.

Pouting, Aoko takes a handful of popcorn and tosses them into her mouth just as the lights dim and the movie starts.

Yomi finds the movie... well, she figures it's alright, but mostly because of the comments Kaito makes softly here and there. She's never really been a fan of romance movies and apparently, Kaito isn't either.

A glance at the other two makes her eyebrow quirk in amusement. Aoko is paying rapt attention, squeezing Hakuba's hand as they go through a scene of betrayal and heartbreak, while Hakuba switches between watching the movie and Aoko inconspicuously.

Taking a sip from her coke to keep from chuckling Yomi figures that her earlier deductions might be a bit off; it seems that what the two have can already be considered as a crush; at least from the blonde's side.

Turning her attention back to the movie, her lips quirk up at hearing Kaito toss another comment ("Who'd ever go for a sleezeball like that anyway? Ung, girls.") to see if she can pick up anything Aoko will grill her on later. It just won't do to answer the brunette's questions with 'I don't know' after all. Aoko might just drag her to it again.

Once the movie ends the group starts walking to a quaint little dinner near the theatre, Aoko happily chatting about the movie and asking for the opinions of the others on certain scenes while pointedly ignoring Kaito's comments to said scenes.

"Honestly, some people don't appreciate a good movie when they see one, you know?" he huffs at Hakuba, cheeks slightly puffed up.

"It comes with having no sense at all." Hakuba placates her, smiling charmingly.

"That's true." Aoko responds, a giggle managing to make its way out of her lips.

"Yomiiii~ They're mean to meeee~" Kaito whines, turning sad eyes to the last one of the party.

Yomi glances at Kaito, quirking an amused eyebrow. "And that's something new?"

"Gah! It's a conspiricy!" Kaito cries out, tossing his hands up in the sky causing a round of chuckles.

The dinner is nice, the group chatting to each other about what they're going to do the next day and what they're not going to do the next day as they eat.

Apparently Hakuba is going to Tokyo later that evening because his assistance is required to solve a case which will take up most of his Sunday and possibly his Monday but he doesn't count in that.

Aoko managed to get her had to agree to spend the Sunday at home with her and the two are going to play card and board games and order take-out for the evening.

Kaito and Yomi are the only ones who don't really have a plan and thus Kaito immediately decides that the two will hang out at Yomi's house and that he will bring some movies and chips over.

The way back to their meeting point is mostly quiet, the sky already dark and the evening chill bringing goose bumps to their arms. Hakuba casually offered Aoko the use of his blazer, something the girl accepted with a blush before the two groups separate.

"Today was fun." Kaito decides with a grin, swinging the shopping bag lightly as he walks, the other hand in his pocket.

"Yes it was." Yomi agrees, smiling lightly, her thoughts elsewhere.

"What're you thinking about?" Kaito asks, blinking down at her.

Yomi shrugs lightly. "Just thinking on how they'll make a good couple if it ever gets so far." she muses. "But considering how stubborn Aoko is and how placid Hakuba seems to be with things like this, that's something that is under debate." she points out.

"Hmm... Well, with a little help, they'll be just fine." Kaito opts, grinning at Yomi.

Yomi raises an eyebrow in amusement. "Don't tell me you're going to play match maker." she snorts softly.

"You wound me, Yomi! I'd never do something as... as Simple as that!" he huffs, rolling his eyes before spinning to meet her, taking his hand out of his pocket and conjuring a rose out of nowhere. "I'll just give them a little bit of magic." he grins, winking.

Yomi eyes him for a few seconds before laughing softly, taking the rose from him. "I'm sure you will." she muses, holding the rose gingerly. She does a mental count on the amount of roses she has so far; she needed a bigger vase not too long ago to put them all in.

"I'm sure you will." she comments, not even bothering to hide her amusement at the thought. Kaito's 'magic' after all, tends to make for one very embarrassed Hakuba on its good days.

'Well,' Yomi thinks, mentally shrugging her shoulders 'I guess I'll just have to wait and see, ne?'

When they finally arrive at their houses Kaito gives her the bag he's been holding the entire day before saying a cheerful goodbye to Yomi and promises that he'll be there the next day at 3PM and that they should order pizza for dinner.

When Yomi opens her bag to put the new clothes away, she really, REALLY isn't surprised to find that one black skirt there, together with a few other skirts Kaito has picked out for her.

'Honestly, some people...' Yomi rolls her eyes, a smile on her lips as she puts the clothes away. 'Well, maybe wearing a skirt once in a while won't be that bad...'

-

MT - Well, I think that takes care of the intro chapters, combined with the first chapter.  
>Kaito - Intro chapters?<br>MT - Well, yeah. I can't just toss a new character in without showing what she's like and how she acts around other people, right?  
>Kaito - I guess...<br>Hakuba - Idiot. I noticed they were intro chapters right away, mostly because nothing actually happened in them.  
>Aoko - Yeah!<br>MT - Oi, oi... Things will happen soon... probably.  
>Kaito - ...<br>Hakuba - ...  
>Aoko - ...<br>Yomi - ...


	3. Chapter 3

The doorbell rings the next day at 3PM sharp; the exact time Kaito had promised to come over. Yomi curses lightly as she stumbles over a pair of shoes crowding the hallway, making a mental note to sort them all at a later date, before opening the front door.

Immediately she comes face to face with Kaito, half his face covered by the junk food contained in the bag he's holding to his chest, a few bags of chips piling out above it. Staring at the other, Yomi can feel a sweat drop form at the side of her face. 'How many people does he think are coming over?' she thinks to herself as she steps aside to let the other in.

"Hey, Yomi!" Kaito grins cheerfully enough. "Figured I'd bring some extra since we generally hang out here anyway~" he comments, spotting the strange stare Yomi sends the bag.

Yomi shakes her head lightly before shrugging. "I see." she comments, finding the explanation plausible enough. It's not like she generally has a lot of junk food in her house anyway, not having grown up with eating too many unhealthy things. Her mother was always on some sort of strict diet, something that affected her as well. Oh well, those days are in the past now; especially after meeting the cheerful, junk food loving magician.

"Just put it in the kitchen somewhere, I guess." she comments, closing the door behind Kaito, before realizing he's already half-way there. With a soft snort she shakes her head as she follows after him.

By the time Yomi arrives at the kitchen she is greeted by Kaito rummaging through her cupboards and putting everything away. She can only imagine how weird it must be to other people; someone coming over and doing whatever they want like they're home. Of course, when you hang out with Kaito you soon grow accustomed to things like that.

"Oh! I brought some ice cream as well." Kaito comments, picking four buckets of ice cream out of the bottom of the bag before moving to the fridge to put them away.

Yomi raises an eyebrow at this. "I am pretty sure you just added more junk food to my kitchen than I have normal food." she points out.

"That's because you don't have a food." Kaito huffs in his defense.

"What are you talking about? I have a week worth of food." Yomi replies, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well, there's still space for more, so this is your kitchen's way of telling you that you need more in it." Kaito says cheekily, closing the fridge and finally turning to Yomi and actually paying attention to her. He notices that her hair is in a loose ponytail and she's wearing one of her normal short tops. However, what draws his attention is that she's wearing the black skirt he purchased for her the previous day.

His eyes widen as he points. "Ah! You're wearing it!"

Yomi blinks at the late reaction before shrugging lightly, feeling slightly self-conscious. "Yeah, I figured I should since you bought it for me and all... does it look weird?" she questions. She finds the feeling of wearing a skirt after years of pants and shorts very weird, constantly wondering how it looks on her and in no hurry to actually wear it somewhere other than her house.

"No, it looks great." Kaito compliments, grinning at her.

"Ah." Yomi blinks at the compliment. Of course, this is Kaito; he wouldn't have bought her something like this if he'd have thought it would look weird. She mentally smacks her face upon not thinking about that earlier; that way she wouldn't have worried a few years off of her life. "Thank you." she replies with a faint smile on her lips.

"You're welcome~" Kaito grins before casually conjuring a red rose out of nowhere, winking at Yomi as he drops it in the vase on the counter which already holds 13 others.

"Honestly, how many roses do you want me to have?" Yomi asks.

Kaito merely shrugs. "As many as I can give~ Now let's go! We have some movies to watch and some junk food to eat~" he lets out a small cheer as he picks up the two bags of chips he didn't put away and a few movies he brought over, before marching to the living room area.

Yomi chuckles softly, grabbing their drinks before following after him and sitting down on the couch, watching Kaito put the DVD into the player. Once the disc is in the magician joins her on the couch and soon enough they are completely wrapped up in the movies and chips.

* * *

><p>They decide to end the day with a simple home cooked meal. Yomi is bustling around in the kitchen, stirring the soup as the rice cooks before focusing back on the toppings. Kaito watches her, lazily spread out on the couch, a look of absolute boredom on his face.<p>

"Are you suuuuure you don't need me to help you out with anything?" he drawls out lazily.

"I'm sure." Comes the reply. Only an idiot would let Kaito touch the stove after making the mistake once, really. The time Yomi had done that she had feared the kitchen would break down and that she would have to explain to the police how the fire from the pits came out in heart shapes. She could only imagine the reactions that would've come from that.

"But I'm boooreeeedddd..." Kaito groans, three small balls appearing in his hands out of nowhere as he starts to juggle them, keeping his eyes on Yomi the entire time.

"I'm pretty sure you have _something_to amuse yourself with." Yomi counters with a snort as she glances over her shoulder to raise her eyebrow at the other.

"Eh... I _guess_I can find something to do." Kaito huffs, the balls having multiplied so that he's now casually juggling six multicolored balls around in the air at a steady pace.

"Don't drop one of the balls and break anything." Yomi warns before turning her attention back to their food.

Kaito lets out a gasp, sitting up straight. "Yomi!" he yells aghast. "Who do you think I _am_!" he cries out, nearly horrified, still juggling the balls.

"Just saying." comes the simple reply as Yomi starts to turn off the stove. She takes out two bowls and two plates, starting to pile the food upon them before carrying them to the coffee table on a tray. She places Kaito's food in front of him before taking her bowl onto her lap. "Enjoy."

"Will do~" Kaito grins, tossing the twelve balls up in the air at the same time before they disappear with a small poof of smoke and he starts to dig in.

It's after the dishes are done ("Damnit, Kaito! Stop juggling the knifes!" "But it's fuuunn~~") that Kaito finally decides that it's time to go on. He stretches lazily as he toes his shoes on, Yomi watching from where she's leaning in the doorway of the hallway.

"We should watch movies next time as well~ There are still so many I want to see!" Kaito comments cheerfully, sending a big grin at Yomi.

"I guess we could." Yomi muses, tilting her head to the side. At least she can relate to Kaito with most of the genres he prefers watching. Though she doesn't see the amusement in comedies, she does share an interest in action and horror movies. She's just glad that Kaito doesn't like the same genres as Aoko does; she's pretty sure having to watch two romance movies would've killed her.

"How about tomorrow evening?" Kaito suggests, opening the door and about to leave, knowing that Yomi will just agree like alwa-

"Sorry, not tomorrow."

Kaito stumbles lightly as he misses his step before looking at Yomi with wide eyes as he straightens himself up. "Eh?" He asks, confusion in his face.

"Someone is coming over tomorrow, so I don't have time." Yomi explains with a shrug. "Maybe later in the week, alright?" she suggests.

Kaito pouts lightly, looking for the world like a lost puppy, but nods nevertheless. "Fiiiineeee..." he groans out, sending one last pitiful look at Yomi before leaving as she merely waves at him.

Going to his room, he collapses on his bed. "Now what do I do tomorrow evening..." he mutters to himself before his eyes brighten up. "Oh! I know!" he grins to himself, hopping off of his bed and practically skipping to his desk. He opens the drawer before taking a small white card out. "I'll just plan a heist! Let's see, the next target is..."

Kaito takes out a list of possible Pandora hosts, randomly picking one, before starting to write out the advance notice and sending it off to the police station.

* * *

><p>Kaito grins, pulling his top hat further over his eyes as he jumps down the roof, leaving the police force behind in a mess of glitters and duck tape. And of course, his favorite tantei-kun probably won't be able to look at toothpaste the same again~ Ever. And Kaito honestly doubts that his tantei-san will be cleaned off of syrup any time soon.<p>

He presses the buttons of his hang glider, soaring through the sky smoothly. Spotting the crowd of onlookers, he chuckles and flies a bit lower. He flies over them, smirking as he hears the girls scream and call out their love for him.

With a small chuckle he brings up one of his hands to his mouth before moving it away with a flourish in an air-kiss, confetti falling down as he does so. A grin creeps onto his lips as he takes joy in their excitement before his attention gets pulled by a flash of silver. 'Can it be...?'

Letting his eyes roam over the crowd his suspicions are confirmed as he spots Yomi, standing a little away from the crowd. However, she doesn't seem focused on him as most of the people are. Instead, she's more focused on the person standing next to him.

'What's tantei-han doing here...?' Kaito wonders before narrowing his eyes lightly.

He takes in the scene, noting that the two talk with an easiness that he hasn't quite reached with Yomi yet. A small smile is on her lips as she says something. Whatever she said must've been good as it results in tantei-han flustering and looking away while scratching his cheek, words escaping his lips.

Kaito huffs softly, feeling quite a bit less cheerful then he did a few minutes ago. Deciding that the reason is the Osakan, he figures he should simply... take care of the problem. Besides, it's the detective's own fault for not joining the chase to make things more exciting for him. Really. Would explain why he's so annoyed upon seeing him down there...

Mind made up, Kaito swoops down in a fluent motion, landing directly in front of the two. Yomi glances at him slightly confused while Heji startles lightly at suddenly seeing him.

"Wha-"

The Osakan doesn't get time to finish as smoke erupts around him. When the slivers of gray ease up, Heji can be found duck taped against the nearest wall, feet some height off of the ground. Some people glance their way curiously, their attention drawn by the neon pink duck tape. No doubt the thief used at least four rolls.

With a snicker he turns his attention to Yomi, deciding to ignore the calculating gaze sent his way as he bows down, conjuring a rose out of nowhere. "A rose, for a beautiful lady such as you." he practically purrs out, looking up at Yomi through his lashes.

Silently she watches, raising an eyebrow at his behavior as Heji starts to positively seethe. "OI! GET AWAY FROM MY COUSIN, YA THIEF!" Tantei-han yells as he struggles against the stickiness in vain, face slightly red with anger as he obviously wants nothing more but to strangle the thief with his precious monocle.

Kaito blinks at the words before his grin widens. Suddenly, he's starting to feel a lot better again. He twirls the rose in his fingers, drawing Yomi's attention to it once again.

"Ah... But I don't have a vase." Yomi comments, amusement in her eyes over the recent happenings. She seems content enough to ignore her cousin shouting profanities from his spot.

"But that can be arranged, my lady." Kaito says smoothly, a vase appearing into his other hand.

It's only when he sees the smirk appear on her lips that Kaito realizes he walked right into Yomi's trap. 'Oh shit.'

Yomi snorts lightly. "Well, in that case..." she reaches out and takes both the vase and the rose. "Thank you very much."

Hearing the tearing of some duck tape, Kaito looks up at Heji. He finds that the Osakan has managed to pull some of the duck tape off of the wall and the killer intent the detective sends his way is causing goose bumps on his arms.

Taking a step away, Kaito clears his throat. "Well, eh..." his eyes shift between the faces of the livid Heji and the knowing Yomi before he shrugs. "Bye then." and with a poof of smoke, he's gone.

It's nearly an hour later when Kaito finally finds himself nearing his neighborhood. Dodging fan girls and getting Nakamori to lose his trail is a decidedly hard thing to do when fearing that his house will be surrounded by police.

He gulps, imagining the broken look on Aoko's face as she'll find out, closing his eyes briefly as he imagines Hakuba slapping handcuffs on his wrists with a knowing smirk. Letting out a shuddering breath, Kaito turns into his street and opens his eyes, only to face-

Nothing.

The street is as quiet as it always is around this time, most families asleep. He can feel a small smile work its way on his lips. 'She didn't tell...'

With a sigh of relieve he starts walking to his house, a light bounce in his step.

* * *

><p>The next morning starts out as a tense one. Kaito glances over at Yomi for the umpteenth time in the past five minutes as they walk to the meeting place where they always meet up with the other two of the quartet, silence stretching over them. Finally, he can't contain his anxiousness any longer.<p>

"Eh... Aren't you going to ask me about last night?" he asks, pulling to a stop.

She stops as well before raising an eyebrow at him, corners of her lips quirking up ever so slightly. "Why? Do you want to tell?" she asks airily before walking on again.

A grin spreads over his lips as he bounces after her, feeling relieved that she seems perfectly content ignoring what happened the previous night, and soon enough he's joking and chatting like nothing happened.

He can't help but feel glad that his secret doesn't shun him in her eyes, and he feels like there is one more person in the world that might be able to understand him when his story is told. All of him.

* * *

><p><strong>I had some problems with this chapter which were driving me a tad nutters. I wasn't completely sure as to what exactly to do in it since I'm still working on what direction to turn it into, but I didn't really want to make you guys wait any longer than you've already had. So sorry that some parts seem a bit awkward! T.T<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Kaito grins as he flies off of the building with practiced ease. He can hear Nakamori shouting from his position on top of the building, unable to move. With a snicker the moonlit thief lets his eyes swoop over the cheering crowd below.

There. A flash of silver.

He raises his hand, sending a small wave at Yomi who chuckles softly and waves back at the other. Many people down below cheer, thinking that the wave was directed at them and they happily wave back. Kaito pays them no mind, even though they are his beloved audience.

With a content hum, Kaitou KID flies off into the night, the weight of the stolen gem in his pocket bringing him a comfortable feeling. By now, Yomi has been to three out of the five heists he has scheduled after she found out about his secret, her presence always bringing a warm feeling to his chest.

The reporters are always in awe over his heists, commenting on that the last few shows have been flashier then they were before, all wondering what happened to drive the Kaitou KID to do so as his previous style was already brilliant enough.

With a small smile gracing his lips he lands in a secluded alley, quickly ridding himself from his disguise and changing into a casual black outfit before making his way home.

Looking up at the gem, holding it in the moonlight, he is slightly awed at the blue light it gives off, before the disappointment sets in. Again; no Pandora. He will have to find a creative way to send the stone back again the next day.

* * *

><p>After sending the gem to Nakamori in a pretty little box with a bright orange ribbon tied around it, Kaito stops in front of Yomi's fence.<p>

"YOMIIII~! COME ON~!" He calls out, hands cupped around his mouth.

He only has to wait two minutes before Yomi steps out of her house, closing the door securely behind her, book bag bouncing on her hip. "Morning."

"Morning~" Kaito grins at her, folding his hands behind his head in a casual manner. "What did you think of yesterday?" he asks once Yomi is next to him and the two start walking.

Yomi snorts lightly. "Really, honey?" she comments, shaking her head lightly, thinking back to what the other used to keep Nakamori in place.

"Mixed with glue." Kaito explains with a big grin.

"Aoko is going to be so annoyed." Yomi chuckles, shaking her head. Of course, the day after Kaitou KID's heists, she's _always_ annoyed thanks to the state her dad is always in upon returning home.

"Ah, she'll be fine, she'll be fine~" Kaito shrugs casually, stretching lightly. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you as much at my heists as I see you there now. Finally fell for KID's charms?" he jokes, grinning at the other all the same.

Yomi scoffs, rolling her eyes. "As if. I was just never interested in the heists Kaitou KID always has. It only interests me now because I know you and can't help but be curious over what it is you do at night." she explains.

Kaito's grin widens slightly at this and he can't help but feel flattered that something simple like that would be enough to interest people in his 'shows'. "So, what do you think of what I do at night, hm?" he asks.

"Hmm..." Yomi puts her finger to her chin, tapping it lightly. "I suppose your, eh... 'shows' are... amusing?" she answers, not knowing what other word to use to describe them.

"Just that?" Kaito asks, a pout firm on his lips. "Amusing? Not... grand? Brilliant? Spectacular? The best thing you've ever encountered in your life?" he whines.

Yomi smirks lightly at the words before shaking her head. "No. Just amusing." she comments airily.

Kaito is about to respond when his attention gets pulled to Aoko's voice coming from the distance. 'Damn. Didn't even notice we arrived yet.' he thinks. A simple glance at Yomi shows that she was as knowing about their arrival as he was; time always flies when you're having fun after all.

"I am SO pissed off! That stupid thief! Daddy STILL smells like honey, even though he showered three times!" Aoko vents out on Hakuba who tries to calm her down.

"Calm down, Nakamori-san. I don't really fare much better..." he placates.

Aoko is about to yell something back again before pausing. "... Hakuba-kun. Why are there glitters in your hair?"

Hakuba scowls slightly as he runs his hand through his hair. "I'm afraid that even after eleven showers, I was unable to get rid of them..." he admits, looking none too pleased.

"What are we talking about?" Kaito grins as he and Yomi join the two. "Nice glitters, Hakuba~"

Hakuba's scowl deepens and he barely manages to bite back the answer 'you'. Annoying or not, Aoko never appreciates him calling her childhood friend her worst enemy.

Yomi blinks, noticing Hakuba's hair. "New look?" she questions, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"..." Hakuba stares at her. Normally Yomi makes sure not to join in the teasing of him, but it seems like she decided to add in her two cents today. Ignoring Kaito who is howling with laughter, the blonde detective shakes his head lightly. "I give up."

Yomi shrugs lightly, a small smirk on her lips as the four start walking towards school.

Hakuba keeps his brown eyes on Yomi and Kaito as he listens to Aoko cursing away about the thief clad in white.

Over the past few weeks he's noticed a subtle change in the two. Subtle enough for Aoko not to notice, but not subtle enough to escape his calculating gaze. If he would have to sum it up, he'd almost say that the two share something together that no one else knows; a secret?

Of course not. He doubts there is any sort of secret that will make Kaito so relaxed around someone like he can only be himself around them. Nor does he suppose there is a secret that can bring Yomi from her usual stoic air.

Brown eyes widen as the answer hits. 'Could it be...!' he thinks, narrowing his eyes at the two. Of course, there is no other possibility. The signs are all over, really. In fact, the signs are so obvious that Hakuba feels ready to kill himself for not noticing anything earlier. He clenches his fist where it's residing in his pocket. 'I believe it's time to have a little chat with Hattori-san...'

* * *

><p>When break comes around, Hakuba finds himself dragging Yomi out of the classroom, to the surprise and slight disdain of Aoko and Kaito.<p>

"What's up with that?" Aoko asks Kaito, a small frown on her face.

Kaito shrugs lightly. "I have no idea..." he admits, puffing up his cheek.

"Hmph..."

Yomi blinks as Hakuba drags her up to the roof, looking around no one else is there before releasing Yomi's wrist satisfied.

Yomi, who has been quiet through the entirety of this weird ordeal, finally opens her mouth. "So... what's this all about?" she questions. "... You're not going to confess to me, are you? Because that would just be... weird. Very weird."

Hakuba frowns lightly before realizing what this scene looks like. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he sputters out a; "No! No, no, that's not it. Not it at all."

Yomi lets out a sigh that sounds a bit too relieved to his ears but he decides to ignore that right now. "There was something else I wished to discuss with you." he says, leaning back against the rail of the roof.

"Something like...?" Yomi questions, leaning next to him, a few suspicions already forming in her mind.

"I believe that you know what I might want to talk about... or rather; who." Hakuba points out.

Yomi raises an eyebrow at this before shrugging. "Kaitou KID then?" she guesses at which the blonde nods.

"Interesting that he's the first person to come to mind." he points out, tone casual as he tries to bait her.

"If it were anything else you wouldn't have simply dragged me off. That, combined with the fact that his last heist was yesterday and that you don't want Aoko to overhear... are you going to accuse Kaito again?"

Hakuba looks at her blankly. Of course, seeing as she's not a detective like he himself is, it's easy for him to underestimate her. Every person with a good set of brains in his life follows the same profession as he does of course (well, except for Kaito, but he doesn't count in Hakuba's mind).

"Correct you are." he grants the girl. "And I believe that you are aware of my claims as much as I am, if not more." he continues, keeping his voice light as if talking about the weather.

"You do realize that I have no interest in Kaitou KID, don't you?" Yomi points out, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"And yet you've been to a few of his heists." Hakuba counters. "I spoke to your cousin a few weeks ago, at a detective meet. The moment I mentioned Kaitou KID he practically turned purple, shouting out that the thief should stay far, far away from you. Interesting, don't you think?" Again he tosses another bait for Yomi to catch, one that he knows the other can't ignore like the previous one.

"Ah, that." Yomi muses, shifting her eyes up to look at the sky. "Heji dragged me over to a heist the last day he was here, though I managed to convince him not to leave me alone for a few hours to chase after a thief so we merely watched. It seemed to be like Kaitou KID didn't like having been ignored and came to bring Heji a little visit upon spotting him. I was simply there and the perfect way to piss him off, I suppose..." she muses, shifting her eyes to Hakuba and shrugging lightly. "All I can think of, really."

"And yet, after that one heist you started visiting more of them." Hakuba continues, not liking how well she seems to be evading his questions. Her answers contain no valid information.

"That's because after visiting that one show, I found that they amused me." Yomi retorts evenly. "He might be a thief, but he certainly puts up flashy shows, doesn't he?" she asks, getting tired of answering questions. She knows better than to give careless answers, at least against the blonde. He'll have Kaito in jail before the school will be over if she messes up.

"That he does." Hakuba agrees. "In fact, ever since you started coming to watch them, the heists have become flashier then they have been before. Almost like Kaitou KID is trying to impress someone... maybe a close friend of him, I suppose?"

"I guess that's possible." Yomi counters. "I'm unable to comment on that since I have no way of knowing what his heists were like before I started coming. Maybe he just got bored with the old style and tried a new one? Whatever the old one might've been." she shrugs.

"Am I to suppose that you also have a good reason for waving back at him whenever Kaitou KID waves at you?" Hakuba asks, starting to get tired with the fruitless questioning.

"He just waves at the public, does he not? I am merely brought up with the notion that if someone waves at you, or the crowd that you are a part of, you wave back." Yomi replies.

Hakuba knows that answer is utter bullshit, just as Yomi knows he doesn't believe that at all. And yet she levels him a gaze that seems to say; so what? With a small frown, Hakuba pushes himself off of the railing.

"Fine. Have it your way." he states simply, glancing at Yomi over his shoulder. "But I do hope that you know this makes you an accomplice of his, and when he gets caught and thrown in jail, you will get in trouble as well." he points out.

"How does it feel?" Yomi interrupts whatever else he might have to add to that.

"How does what feel?" Hakuba asks, feeling slight confusion at the question.

"How does it feel to look so hard for evidence to arrest one of your friends?" Yomi clarifies, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're always looking, always accusing, always working on proving that Kaito is Kaitou KID and promising that you will catch him and toss him in jail... How does it feel to do that to someone who considers you one of his best friends?"

For the first time in a very long time, Hakuba has encountered a question that he cannot answer.

Aoko and Hakuba notice right away that something has happened between their two friends. Yomi seems to give Hakuba the cold shoulder while Hakuba is mostly quiet for the remainder of the day, most likely deep in thought.

Both are left wondering what it was exactly that happened as it doesn't seem like either one of the two are keen to answering that question any time soon.

The trip home is a quiet one for once, as not even Kaito seems to be able to lighten the mood by more than a fraction.

* * *

><p>It is nearing 11 in the evening when Yomi hears her doorbell ring. With a sigh she gets up from where she was sitting behind her desk to move to the door.<p>

'Probably Kaito, dropping by for one of his impromptu sleepovers.' she thinks, shaking her head lightly at the thought. The thought is immediately replaced with confusion as Hakuba is standing on the other side of the door.

She can easily figure out why Hakuba would be here, especially after their previous conversation on the school roof. "Would you like to come in?" she asks.

Hakuba shakes his head lightly. "I won't be long. Here is enough."

"Alright." Yomi muses, leaning against the doorway and crossing her arms over her chest. "Am I correct in thinking that you have an answer for me?" she questions.

"Yes you are." Hakuba nods, shoving his hands into his pockets almost self consciously. "As for how it feels to always be searching for evidence that my... friend is Kaitou KID... It feels horrible." he admits, shifting his eyes to the doorbell. "But I have a duty as a detective, a duty that pushes me to seek out criminals and to put them away and I am sure that Kaito is the criminal I'm looking for. And yet, every time I search, I am always hoping that I will find something that will prove that Kaito is, in fact, not Kaitou KID. And that everything is just a pile of coincidences and that I can find someone else who is really Kaitou KID and that I can put this entire ordeal behind me."

Yomi quietly listens to the explanation Hakuba gives her before shaking her head lightly and forcing herself to stop slouching against the doorway and to stand up. She can understand the conflict Hakuba must be feeling; his friend or his believes. Both are important to him and he doesn't want to give either one up, and yet he knows fully well that one of them will have to go. And when that happens, he might never be able to fully forgive himself.

"Why don't you come inside for some tea? It's already late." she murmurs.

Hakuba shifts his eyes to her before nodding. Telling Yomi all that took out quite a bit of energy from him and even he doesn't know why he told her everything. He had only planned on telling him the answer, but once he started talking, he found that everything just kept rushing out.

As he is seated on one of Yomi's white couches with a steaming cup of tea in between his hands, he can't help but feel slightly relieved over having told someone everything he wanted to tell, no matter the fact that it wasn't on purpose.

He shifts his eyes to Yomi who is seated on the other couch with her own cup of tea, blowing lightly at the drink, before he turns his brown eyes back to his cup. "Why do you suppose he steals?" he questions, a debate that has been opened so many times at police headquarters that he can recite the answer of everyone in the taskforce.

"I suppose he's looking for something." Yomi replies after a few seconds of thinking, drawing a small hum from Hakuba. "He steals, he returns, steals again, returns again. Almost like he's waiting to steal a certain thing that he won't be able to return... probably due to certain circumstances surrounding whatever item it will turn out to be."

A small smile curves around Hakuba's lips as he takes a small sip of the tea. He himself is of the same reasoning, since he can't imagine Kuroba Kaito to have anything other than a good reason to steal.

'Because my friends don't do bad things without a good reason.' And though he knows that thought isn't enough to make him stop chasing Kaitou KID, he knows that the thought is good enough to keep his mind at east, and he'll be able to continue his daily routine with his friends.

* * *

><p><strong>There! I've been wanting to do something with Hakuba in this story, but up until now I haven't really been able to find many openings in doing so. I'm pretty glad I got to play around with him like this in the chapter.<br>****I hope you liked reading it~**


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